There’s a new sponsor for the track’s showcase race, a couple of new bars and other amenities, but beyond that the Monmouth Park meet that begins on Saturday will look a lot like last year’s.

And that’s a good thing, say the track’s operators.

Monmouth’s 68th season of racing will be the second since the picturesque Shore track was privatized, with Darby Development LLC and the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association rescuing the failing thoroughbred business from the state at the 11th hour a year ago.

Now the folks running the track are thinking long term, signing a sponsorship deal with William Hill — one of the world’s leading betting and gaming companies — for the $1 million Haskell Invitational on July 28.

William Hill will also develop and operate a Las Vegas-style sports book at Monmouth Park if sports betting is legalized in the state.

"I’m excited by the fact that there’s no uncertainty this year," said Dennis Drazin, an adviser to Darby and the NJTHA. "Coming into last year, we were wrestling with privatization and the governor was about to close the track when we stepped up to the plate. But it happened so late that people around the country didn’t know if we were going to be open and what the purses were going to be like if we were. People were even saying there might not be a Haskell.

"That’s behind us now."

Monmouth will start with a Saturday-Sunday schedule the first two weekends, adding a Monday card on Memorial Day on May 27. Following that, the live racing schedule will run Friday through Sunday.

Purses, despite the absence of slots-generated supplements (which virtually every other track in the Northeast now has), will start at a respectable $350,000 per day.

"The best way to say it is that the mood has changed from the desperate sense that we were going to be gone to, ‘We’re here to stay with a long-term plan,’ " said NJTHA president John Forbes.

With the Bayonne Off-Track Wagering facility up and running, and the Woodbridge OTW still flourishing, Monmouth’s operators are looking to build another OTW in the next year.

And the slot money is coming, Drazin said.

"The governor and Senate President Steve Sweeney gave us a five-year plan. After five years they said they would look favorably into expanding gaming outside of Atlantic City," Drazin said. "We’re about 2½ years into that plan."

Though the track was hit hard by Hurricane Sandy, with $5.7 million in needed repairs, most of the damage was to the stable area where nine barns had to be rebuilt.

Much of the repair work to the main facility is close to complete. Fans will also have access to new bars on the grandstand apron and in the picnic area.

When live racing starts, TVG will broadcast every race daily — a major boost, both perceptually and to the handle, Monmouth president Bob Kulina said.

"They drive traffic," Kulina said. "When they weren’t here last year we saw that, and the reason they weren’t here last year was because of the timing."

Monmouth will also offer two new wagers: the Jersey Shore 6, a 10-cent bet based on Gulfstream Park’s popular Rainbow 6, and a $5 quinella on the last race each day.